


W is for Water

by Jazzie



Series: A to Z of Danny Whump! [23]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 00:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11932323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jazzie/pseuds/Jazzie
Summary: Danny's enjoying a day out at the beach with Grace, what could possibly go wrong?!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have borrowed some characters from another show for this one, but the series is not listed on here that I could see and therefore, I have not tagged them.

Steve, Chin and Kono would be astounded if they could see their fourth team member at this moment.  Danny Williams was spending the weekend with his daughter and he had, at her request, taken her to Waimanalo Beach for the day.  The reason they would be so taken aback by this turn of events is because Danny doesn’t do the beach or the ocean.  Still they all knew that there was little he could deny Grace when she asked him to do something with her.

Actually not only was Danny at the beach, but he was currently in the water with Grace.  He was chasing her through the water, grabbing her, picking her up and then dropping her back in the water, much to her delight and to his, because if Grace was giggling that meant she was happy, if she was happy then so was he.

The scene was idyllic and was causing quite a few women to sit up and take notice as the buff blonde detective played in the ocean with his little girl.  There were many aw’s and ah’s being exchanged.  Who wouldn’t love a guy who, clearly on his own, was interacting on such a level with his daughter?  But Danny had eyes for only one female on the beach that day and that was Grace.

“Danno!” squealed Grace as he once again grabbed her round the waist.

“Yes Monkey?” he asked in his most innocent voice.

“Stop it!” she giggled; clearly only pretending to protest the treatment.

“You want me to stop?”

“Yes!”

“To put you down?”

“Yes!”

“OK then, but remember you asked,” and he unceremoniously dropped her back into the water.

She came back up flipping one of her braids out of the way and wiping the water from her face.  Standing back up in front of her Dad she put her hands on her hips and in a voice that was scarily like her mother’s told him off with a big grin, “Now you know perfectly well that is not what I meant!  Honestly I don’t know what I’m going to do with you!” she sounded older than her years, which made Danny shudder slightly.

“Huh, really?  ‘Cos you asked me to put you down,” he mirrored her stance and grin.

“Put me down Danno, not drop me!”

“Oh.  So you maybe wanna try that again and see if I can get it right?” he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“No!”

“You sure?” he took a step towards her and she took several steps away from him.

“Positive.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” he pretended to shrug and turn away.

Grace wasn’t fooled for a second and waded into shallower water and started running as he came after her.  She was giggling so hard that she couldn’t run properly and Danny was having the same trouble.  In order to bring the game to a temporary end so he could catch his breath Danny pretended to stumble and fell face first into the water. 

Lifting his head up he called out to his daughter, “Alright, alright, you win!”

Grace collapsed down beside him, sitting in the shallow surf and leaned into him, “Thanks for bringing me here Danno, its great!”

“Yeah Monkey, it is.  Of course anywhere you are is great!” he placed a kiss on his daughter’s wet head and hugged her to him.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of engines entering the peaceful beach setting.  When Danny looked up he saw a group of what appeared to be teenagers on jet skis, there must have been nearly a dozen of them.  He was about to dismiss them when he noticed two of them were racing with no consideration for the fact they were too close to shore, where people were body boarding and swimming. 

The lifeguards on the beach were clearly worried as they started to move towards the ocean and he heard someone use a radio to call for a boat to assist with clearing the jet skiers out of the area.  Danny knew this was going to end badly; he felt it in his gut but hoped he was wrong.

People on the beach watched in horror as the two racing jet skiers nearly collided, they both swerved at the last minute which dumped both the riders into the ocean.  Unfortunately, they had been going at such speed that even though the engines cut out on both skis they didn’t stop and with nobody to steer them they headed towards the swimmers.  Danny wanted to look away but couldn’t, though he made sure he pulled Grace to him and buried her face against his chest as the skis ploughed into the innocent bystanders.

Seconds later the six lifeguards were in the water as members of the public swam for shore, some grabbing on to screaming children.  It looked to Danny like there were dozens potentially in need of help and only six lifeguards.  He looked down at Grace, before looking back out to the chaos in the ocean.

“Go Danno!” Grace told him, giving him a little shove.

“I can’t leave you here by yourself Grace!”

“I’ll be OK,” she said bravely.  Her Danno could help and he’d always told her if you could then you should, “I can sit on the beach,” she waved a hand back to where they’d put their things, “You can help!” she insisted.

A woman standing nearby with her family overheard, “I’ll keep an eye on her for you,” she offered, “My husband has gone to see if he can help too.”  Danny eyed her warily.  Leaving his daughter with some stranger was not ideal.  Grabbing up her purse the woman pulled out some identification and handed him her ID.  Shauna Vitelli, LAPD, “I’d be out there helping but I think I’d be more of a hindrance,” she gave a rueful smile as she indicated her protruding belly; she was clearly around six months pregnant.

“OK, Grace, you stay with Mrs Vitelli.  Danno loves you,” he planted a kiss on her head and wasted no further time running back into the water.

Although Danny didn’t like to swim, and he had his reasons, he could swim very well.  Once he was deep enough he dived under the water, his strong arms and legs propelling him smoothly through the ocean, muscles rippling.  If Steve could see him now he would be extremely impressed and would certainly never doubt Danny’s ability to swim again.

When he reached the area where the jet skis had come to rest he came to a stop and assessed the situation; he spotted a lifeguard swimming towards a boat that had appeared.  Ordinarily lifeguards didn’t like it when civilians got involved but under these circumstances they were overwhelmed and needed any help that they could get.

Now he knew where he needed to take anyone he helped, he found the person nearest to him, who just happened to be a woman clinging to her son, desperately trying to tread water while keeping him afloat.

“Ma’am?”

“Oh god, my son was hit by his body board as we tried to get out of the way.  He was knocked unconscious, I can’t wake him,” she was obviously in shock, otherwise Danny was sure she would have swam over to the boat herself.

“If I take him can you swim to that boat over there?” he pointed out the lifeguard scarab which had been joined by a coastguard vessel.

“Yes.”

Danny took the boy and rested his arm across his chest and started to tow him to the boats, the mother swimming close to him.  When he reached the boat the young boy was carefully taken from him, after helping the mother aboard Danny turned and swam back out to help someone else.  As he neared one of the jet skis he noticed someone clinging to it with one hand and headed in their direction.

“Hey!” he called.  The person lifted their head and looked at him, eyes glazed with pain.  Danny was sure he was one of the jet skiers.  Morons hadn’t been wearing life vests, just to add to their list of idiocy.

“I think I’ve broken my arm.”

Part of Danny wanted to tell the teenager that it served him right but he knew that wouldn’t help anybody, “Alright, let go, I’ve got you.”

Without question the teenager released his hold on the jet ski and allowed Danny’s arm to encircle him.  He rested his head back against his rescuer and allowed himself to be towed.  Handing him over at the boat he told the lifeguard his suspicions before going back out.  There must have been a dozen people in the water helping with the rescue but he could still see people in need of help.  After another four trips with people in need of various degrees of medical treatment he took a breath, starting to feel tired, scanning the ocean he looked for anyone else that needed help.  Spotting a man who was struggling to keep his head above water, the detective ducked under the water and with strong strokes was by his side in a matter of seconds.  When the man saw Danny he instinctively grabbed hold of him dragging them both under.

When they resurfaced Danny spluttered and coughed up some water then tried to calm the man down, “Hey, I’m here to help, you need to stop struggling!”  The words had no affect and the man carried on panicking and fighting, managing to elbow Danny in the face.  Biting back a curse, he tried again, “Stop it!  I can’t help you if you fight me!”

The words fell on deaf ears as the struggling continued and the man once again dragged them both underwater.  Danny was tired, he’d done more swimming in the last short while than he’d done in a long, long time and despite the fact that he kept his fitness level up with other exercise, it wasn’t the same.  His cheek was throbbing from the elbow that struck it and if he wasn’t careful he’d become a victim.  The last thing he wanted was for one of the lifeguards he was trying to help to have to rescue him! 

Getting them back up to the surface once more the man was still flailing his arms and once again caught Danny with his elbow, this time in his abdomen, causing him to gasp and swallow some more water.  He was ready to take desperate measures as the man pulled them under for the third time.  Danny was having problems getting them back up to the surface; the guy was bigger than him and fighting for his life, which made him a hell of a lot stronger than perhaps he would normally have been.  It probably seemed to him, in his panicked mind, that Danny was there to hurt him, not help him.

There was no other choice, Danny was getting too tired to fight and was rapidly running out of air, so he did the only thing that he felt he could under the circumstances to save both their lives; he punched the guy.  The momentary shock of being struck stopped him from struggling and Danny was finally able to get them both to the surface and securely grab him round his chest, taking a deep breath he then set off back towards the boats.

“I had to punch him, he was fighting me,” Danny explained the bloody nose to the lifeguard who looked at him as he hung on to the side of the boat coughing up sea water.

“Looks like he got you too,” he pointed at Danny’s cheek.

“Yeah, elbowed me,” Danny shrugged.

“Come on, get in.  You’ve done enough and we’re heading back in with this lot,” he indicated the boat full of people behind him.

“My daughter’s waiting for me on the beach.”

“Dude, you are too tired to swim back, we’ll get you back to your daughter.  Come on,” the lifeguard leaned over and helped him into the boat.

“Thanks,” Danny collapsed into the boat still coughing.

“Jason Ioane and you are?” curious about this civilian who had rescued seven people.

“Danny Williams.”

“Are you a lifeguard somewhere else?” that would certainly explain the ease with which he’d seen Danny move through the water.

“No, nothing like that.  I’m a detective.  I’m on the Governor’s taskforce.”

“Well thanks for the assist Detective Williams,” he held out his hand.

“Danny and you are welcome Mr Ioane.”

“Jason.”

The two men sat side by side as the scarab returned to shore, Danny still catching his breath after the coughing died down.  They assisted the other passengers off the boat before leaving themselves.  Jason walked over to a man that was standing on the dock.

“Hey Sean, this is Detective Danny Williams, he helped us with the rescue.  Danny, this is my boss, Sean Monroe.”

“Nice to meet you Danny, thanks for your help,” he held out a hand which the other man took.

“Sean, no problem but I do need to get back to the beach, my daughter’s waiting for me.”

“You should get checked out first,” Jason told him.

“I’m fine,” insisted Danny.

“You were coughing up water!”

“Is that true?” Sean asked.  He didn’t want to let someone walk away if they were in need of medical attention.

“I swallowed a little water but I’m fine, honestly.  Look a friend of mine’s a doctor, I’ll ask her to give me the once over when I’ve got my daughter and get home.”

“I’ll need you to sign some paperwork,” advised Sean.  It really was necessary to cover them in case something happened later on.

“Lead the way,” Danny didn’t argue, the sooner this was done the sooner he could get back to Grace.  Fifteen minutes later he’d provided his statement and signed the form that he’d been given stating he had refused medical attention.

“Sean, can I take one of the trucks to get Danny back to his daughter?”

“Yeah, go ahead.  Come straight back though, I’ll need your help with this,” he waved his hand in the direction of the offices which were filled with people needing to give statements, “Thanks again Danny.  I hope to see you at Waimanalo again but next time without the need to join in a rescue!”

“This is the first time I’ve been here but my daughter loves it so I’m sure she’ll persuade me to come back again,” Danny smiled as he shook Sean’s hand again then followed Jason out to one of the trucks.

The two men made the journey in a comfortable silence, they’d both been involved in the rescue and it had been a lot to take in.  Danny scanned the beach for his daughter as they pulled onto the section where they’d been, “There she is.”  Jason stopped the truck and got out with Danny, “Grace!”

The little girl twirled around, braids flying, the moment she spotted him she was running towards him, “Danno!”

He caught her as she flew into his arms, smothering her with kisses, “Hey Monkey.”

“Are you OK?” she caught the slight darkening of the area on his right cheek and eye.

“I’m fine Gracie,” he turned around, “This is Jason, he’s a lifeguard and was helping with the rescue.  Jason, this is my daughter Grace.”

Jason’s eyes crinkled as he smiled at her, “Hi Grace.  Your Dad wanted to get back to you as quickly as he could, so I thought I’d bring him to you.”

Grace smiled shyly back at him.  Uncle Steve was tall, but this man was even taller, “Nice to meet you,” she said politely, just as she’d always been taught, “Thanks for bringing Daddy back.”

“My pleasure.  Listen next time you come to Waimanalo why don’t you drop by headquarters and I’ll give you the tour,” offered Jason, “I can introduce you to some of our Junior lifeguards, you’re not quite old enough to join but I’m sure you’d like to see what they get up to.”

“Can we Danno?”

“Of course we can Monkey,” Danny smiled down at his daughter, “Thanks Jason, that’s a nice offer.”

“No problem,” he leaned back into the truck and pulled out a card with his details, “Give me a call when you’re next heading out here and I’ll make sure I’m here.”

“Will do, thanks again.  Grace let’s grab our things and head home, I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day,” he started to turn round to leave.

“Oh and Danny, don’t forget you said you’d let that doctor friend of yours give you the once over!” he grinned as Danny shot him a dirty look.

“Danno?” Grace asked curiously.

“It’s nothing Grace.”

“Your Dad swallowed a little water and he promised my boss that he’d get a doctor friend to check him over when he got home,” he ignored the death glares he was receiving.  He knew Danny’s type, hell he was the same himself, he also knew that his daughter would make sure, somehow, that he did what he said he would.

“I’ll make sure he does.  Can we go to Uncle Steve’s for a little while, I haven’t seen him in ages and I could play on his beach for a little while, please?  We can call Auntie Malia from there!”  In that one sentence his daughter had gone from being the adult of the two back to being a kid who wanted to go and play on her Uncle’s beach.

Sighing in defeat Danny agreed, “Yes, we can go and see Uncle Steve, just no telling tales about this,” he waved his hand in the general direction of the ocean.  The pair said goodbye to Jason, Danny thanked Shauna Vitelli, gathered their things and got into the Camaro and drove to Steve’s.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

“He might not even be home,” Danny warned Grace as they were approaching Steve’s house.

“Well we can find out,” she pointed out reasonably.  As they pulled into the driveway Grace squealed, “He’s home!”

“Just because his truck is here doesn’t mean he is!” resigned to spending the afternoon with Super SEAL, because really the likelihood of him _not_ being in was slim, he climbed out of the car and pulled the seat forward to allow his daughter out.  He hadn’t even got the door closed before Grace was knocking on the door and then opening it, just as her Dad did whenever he stopped by, yelling, “Uncle Steve!”

Once he locked the car up and started toward the house he heard Steve’s voice greet his daughter, “Hey Gracie!”

Entering the house he found the pair standing on the back decking.  The SEAL had obviously been enjoying a peaceful day that they had now disturbed.

“You’re covered in sand, where have you been?” Steve asked Grace as he settled her on his hip and turned to greet his brother, “Hey Danny.”

“We’ve been to Waimanalo Beach!  It was great; we played in the ocean until these people on jet skis…”

“Hey Steve,” Danny interrupted the flow before Grace could get going and drop him in it; he made sure he kept his distance so that Steve was less likely to pick up on the bruise forming on his cheekbone and under his eye, “Grace wanted to stop by and say hello.  Sorry, we’ve disturbed you; we’ll leave you in peace.”

“Don’t be silly Danny.  You’re both welcome here anytime, you know that,” Steve admonished wondering why his partner was looking both exhausted and shifty at the same time. 

“Thanks,” he mumbled in reply, “I’m just gonna grab a drink.  Grace, behave yourself,” he eyed his daughter.

“Yes Danno,” she replied giving him her best innocent smile.  Somehow he wasn’t quite convinced.

Danny grabbed a couple of bottles of water and one of juice from the fridge before going back out to the decking where Grace had Steve’s undivided attention.  Danny’s heart sunk when he caught what she was saying.

“… so I stayed with Mrs Vitelli and Daddy went out to help with the rescue.  He was awesome.  Then he got to ride in a truck with one of the lifeguards, Jason, who invited us back another time so he could show me round headquarters.”

“Wow, that’s quite an eventful morning you had!” Steve chuckled at Grace’s exuberance as she told the story.

“Grace…” Danny’s tone held a gentle warning.

“Oh that reminds me Danno,” Grace smiled innocently, totally ignoring her father’s warning.  She knew she was perfectly safe, not just because she knew Danno loved her, but she was sitting on her Uncle Steve’s knee, “You need to call Auntie Malia, you did promise Jason that you’d ask her to… Now what did he say?” she pretended to look thoughtful as Steve raised an eyebrow at Danny, “That’s right, you’d ask her to give you the once over.  That’s right isn’t it Danno?”

“Danny?” Steve asked, his face taking on a mixture of his aneurism and constipation expressions.

“Grace,” the detective cursed his daughter, “You said you wouldn’t tell any tales!”

“I never promised!” Grace replied cheekily.

“You are so like your mother,” he mumbled quietly to himself.

“Danny?” Steve asked again, “What is Grace talking about?” there was a warning in his voice.  He wasn’t going to be fobbed off.

“I swallowed a bit of sea water and Jason thought I should get checked out, but I feel fine and just wanted to head back.”

“Well he’s right, you should get checked out but Malia and Chin are away for the weekend,” Steve picked up his cell.

“Who are you calling?”

“I’m going to ask Kono to come and watch Grace while I take you to Queens.”

“I don’t need to go to the hospital Steven!”

“Yes, you do,” he stepped closer finally getting a good look at Danny, “Nice bruise.  How’d you get it?”

“One of the victims panicked and elbowed me by mistake,” Danny shrugged as he replied and Steve dialled Kono, “Look, I’ll go to the hospital but I can drive myself, you can watch Grace.”

“Not going to happen,” responded Steve as the call was answered, “Hey Kono, would you be able to come and watch Grace at mine for a while please... That’s great, thanks,” he hung up, “Kono will be here in twenty minutes.  You might as well sit down while you wait.”

Danny flopped into one of the chairs on the deck then placed the bottles of water on the table, handing the bottle of juice to Grace, “Here you go Monkey.”

“Thanks Danno,” there wasn’t an ounce of remorse in her voice.  She knew Uncle Steve would make sure he followed Jason’s orders.

A little while later Steve and Danny were heading to Queens after giving a short explanation to Kono.  What they did tell her left her a little speechless and that was with Danny glossing over most of the details.  The journey to the hospital was quiet but not uncomfortable.  Danny was tired and Steve was contemplating how he was going to find out the details of this rescue.  He knew Danny was underplaying his role.  The answer came as he got out of the Camaro in the parking lot, as Danny closed his door a business card fluttered down from the dash.  Steve picked it up intending to just put it back, when he noticed the name and the logo, when he realised it was from the lifeguard Grace had told him about, he pocketed it and determined to call him to find out the details.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

“I’m going to call Kono and let her know we’re gonna be a while,” Steve told Danny, the ER waiting room was full to bursting.

“I can come back later, perhaps when it’s quieter.”

“No, you’re booked in and you’re waiting!  I mean it Danny.”

“Fine,” he watched the SEAL exit the ER and leaned his head back against the wall.

“Danny?”  Looking up he found Henry standing in the entrance to the waiting room, “Are you waiting to be seen?”

“Hey Henry, yeah.”

“Come on, I’ll take a look at you, I’ve just finished my shift.”

“That’s OK, I’ll wait,” he told the doctor as he felt everyone else in the waiting room glare at him.

“As your doctor I insist.  Now, please.”

Danny threw the other people waiting an apologetic glance as he followed Doctor Jensen, stopping at reception to pick up the necessary paperwork, he then led Danny back to a cubicle just as Steve returned and joined them.

“Is Kono OK staying with Grace?  I can come back…”

“No you can’t,” both Henry and Steve told him simultaneously.

“Kono and Grace are fine.  They’re building sandcastles.”

“Danny, you may feel fine but swallowing water like that can damage your lungs.  Now please let me examine you.”

Throwing up his hands in defeat Danny caved and allowed himself to be poked and prodded.  An hour later he had his t-shirt back on and was being allowed to leave.

“Alright Danny, you’re O2 levels are good and your lungs are clear,” Henry told him, “But symptoms of secondary drowning can occur up to seventy two hours after the initial incident.  If you experience severe coughing, trouble breathing or pain in your chest or lungs then you need to come straight back here.  Understand?”

“Yeah.  Thanks Henry,” he shook the doctor’s hand and then followed Steve back to the car.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

“Danno!” Grace called as she saw her Dad step out onto the decking.  She hurried to give him a hug, “Are you alright?”

“Yes Monkey, Doctor Jensen saw me and says I’m fine.  Everything is working as it should.  Have you been good for Kono?”

“Uh huh.  We’ve been building sandcastles, see?” she pointed to the beach.

“Wow, you’ve been busy!” Danny smiled as he saw several sandcastles of varying sizes lined up on Steve’s beach.

“I made some lunch when Steve called and said you were going to be awhile.  Hope that’s OK?” the question was to both men.

“Thanks,” Danny replied.

“That’s fine Kono.”

“I left a couple of sandwiches in the fridge for you two as well,” she smiled before responding to Grace’s demands to join her back on the beach.

“Sit down Danny, I’ll grab the sandwiches and drinks,” Steve told him.  Part of him was surprised when he did as he’d been told; the other part wasn’t since he could see the events of the day catching up.

Once Danny had eaten, he turned to Steve, “Can I grab a shower?”

“Sure.  Have you got some clean clothes in the Camaro?”

“Yeah, but I also have some sweats that I left here, I’ll just change into those.”

“You know where everything is,” Steve wanted to follow, to keep an eye on him, but fought off the urge and just watched as Danny went inside.  It took half an hour before Steve finally gave in and entered the house looking for him.  He couldn’t hear the sound of water running as he walked through the house.  A little concerned, he took the stairs two at a time, the bathroom door stood open but the door to the guest room was closed.  Steve gently tapped on it, when he got no response he opened the door and smiled at the sight before him.  Danny had obviously intended to sit down on the bed to put his sweat pants on but instead had ended up falling asleep.  The SEAL slipped quietly into the room and lifted up Danny’s legs so they were on the bed, then grabbed a blanket off a nearby chair and draped it over him before leaving him to sleep for a bit.

 

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Steve checked his watch.  Danny had been asleep for a few hours now and it was going to be time to get some food shortly, though he figured they’d just order take out, then he’d drop Danny and Grace back at their apartment.

Looking over at Grace he grinned at her tongue sticking out at she tried to keep in the lines of the picture she was colouring in.  Kono was sitting on her other side, having accepted Steve’s offer to stay for dinner, and was helping her.  Grace had showered and changed earlier into clothes that Danny had in a bag in the trunk of the Camaro.

“Grace,” he spoke to his niece.

 “Yes Uncle Steve,” she stopped what she was doing to look up at him.

“Why don’t you go and wake Danny and we’ll decide what to order for dinner.”

“OK,” she shuffled her chair back with Kono’s help and ran inside.

Grace ran up the stairs to the guestroom and pushed the door open.  Her Dad was sprawled out and snoring which made his daughter giggle.

“Danno,” she called while gently shaking him, not wanting to startle him.

“Huh,” Danny coughed and groaned as he opened his eyes.

“Uncle Steve said it’s time to wake up.  We’re going to order take out.”

“’K,” he looked at his daughter through sleep blurred eyes.  Sitting up slowly he realised several things at once, he ached all over, his chest was tight and he had developed a slight cough, “Eugh.  I’ll be down in a minute Gracie,” he gave her a smile and watched as she left the room.  Doctor Jensen had told him if he experienced severe coughing he should go back in, well it wasn’t severe, just annoying.  The tightness in his chest was likely caused by the general ache that existed in every single muscle.

Danny pulled on his sweat pants, got to his feet and headed across to the bathroom, freshened up and then went downstairs.

“Hey sleeping beauty, how are you feeling?” Kono asked with a grin.

“Shuddup!” he grouched at her with a good natured gentle shove at the sleeping beauty comment, “I’m OK, still a little tired and I ache all over.  I think I used muscles today I had forgotten existed!”

They ordered dinner, the usual pizza for each of them.  Danny told them a little more about the jet ski incident without going into too much detail about how long he’d been out there and what he’d actually done, his words were interrupted by the occasional cough.  Steve kept quiet for now about the rescue, he’d spoken to Jason and knew exactly what his partner had done and just how much he was down playing his role and simply raised his eyebrows at the coughing.

Danny caught the look his brother was throwing him, “Its fine, Henry said severe coughing.  Can I ask a favour though?”

“You can ask,” Steve grinned, winking at Grace and Kono.

“Would you mind if we stayed here tonight?  I’m too tired to go anywhere.”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” he asked, after all Danny had fought him tooth and nail to get back to his own place.

Danny rolled his eyes, “Yes, Super SEAL, I’m fine, just really tired.  If it’s a problem…”

“Of course it’s not a problem Danno!”

“Thanks.”

“Can we spend the day with Uncle Steve again tomorrow?  Please?”

“As long as that’s alright with Uncle Steve,” Danny agreed.

“I’d like that Grace,” he smiled and kissed his niece on the top of her head as he cleared the leftovers away.

“Auntie Kono, will you come over again tomorrow, please, perhaps give me another surfing lesson?”

“I can do that,” Kono agreed, much to the nine year olds delight.

The group left the table and went into the living room and Grace picked a movie to watch.  She chose Dolphin Tale; ever since Steve had paid for a weekend at a hotel for her and Danno where she could swim with dolphins, back when they’d first met she had loved dolphins so the movie was perfect for her.

It hadn’t been on more than twenty minutes when Danny fell asleep and about another twenty minutes after that he started snoring.  Steve and Kono exchanged glances and smirked. 

“Danno!” Grace shook her father, “Danno!”

“Huh?” he opened one eye to look at his daughter.

“Go to bed!”

“Nah, ‘m fine.”

“Danno, go to bed!” she said more firmly.

“Just who is the parent here?” he asked her with a slight grin.

“Go on Danny, you’re obviously exhausted,” Kono pressed.

“I’ll make sure Grace goes to bed after the movie,” Steve chimed in.

“Ganging up on me huh?  Alright, you three win, I’ll go to bed,” he got up from the couch and bit back a groan.  Bending back down, he planted a kiss on Grace’s forehead, “Night Monkey.  Danno loves you.”

“Night Danno, love you too.”

“Night guys,” he said to Steve and Kono before heading slowly up the stairs.

“Night!” they called back and then turned their attention back to the movie.

When Dolphin Tale ended Steve decided that since he was looking after Grace that she could stay up and watch another movie.  It was a Saturday night and she didn’t have to be up early the next morning.  Kono grinned at the indulgence but went and organised some drinks and popcorn, then they settled down to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny hauled his aching body up the stairs and entered the bathroom to clean his teeth then to the guestroom and dropped on to the bed just as he was but started coughing again.  Using the pillow he muffled the sounds not wanting Steve to overreact.  Once it passed he lay down with his hand resting on his tight chest and forcing himself to take deep breaths even if it did hurt a little.

Damn he was so tired but every time he drifted off he started to cough now.  Sighing he rested some pillows up against the headboard and sat up.  The change in position seemed to help and he managed to doze off for a bit.

He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep when he was woken by a distinct feeling that he couldn’t breathe very well.  At first he thought he’d been dreaming but as he became more aware he realised that his chest was tighter than ever and he really was struggling to breathe.

_‘Alright Danny, calm down.  Breathe in; breathe out; breathe in; breathe out,’_ he tried to follow his own instructions but it didn’t seem to be helping.  He was just thinking that it was time to get Steve when he heard light footsteps coming down the hall, they stopped at his door and it pushed open to reveal his daughter.

“Danno…” she started to speak to him however, there was something about him that wasn’t right.

“Grace… Get… Steve,” he managed in between breaths.

Turning round Grace ran to the top of the stairs and yelled, “Uncle Steve!”

Kono had been helping Steve clear up before leaving and at Grace’s yell the two ran out of the kitchen.

“Grace?” Steve asked as he took the stairs at a run.

“Something’s wrong with Danno!”

Kono grabbed hold of Grace to stop her following Steve as he continued on to the guestroom.  He didn’t slow down until he was next to Danny.

“Can’t… breathe… properly,” Danny looked at his brother, eyes wide.

“Hospital!” Steve stated getting Danny to his feet and supporting him out of the room.  They didn’t have time to wait for an ambulance; he could get Danny to Queens in the time it would take for one to arrive.

Grace was crying in Kono’s arms as the two men walked by, “Grace… don’t be… scared,” Danny’s heart broke at the sight of his daughter, “Danno… loves… you.”

“I love you too Daddy,” she replied.

“We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Kono told Steve.  She didn’t think it was a good idea for Grace to travel to Queens with the two men when her father was experiencing breathing difficulties; it would just upset her more.

Steve grabbed the keys for the Camaro off the side and left Kono to lock up the house, not really caring at the moment about the alarm.  He helped Danny into the car and ran round to the driver’s side.  He pulled out of the drive turning on the lights and siren.

“How long have you been having trouble breathing Danny?”

“Not long,” Danny purposely kept his answers short as the mantra of breathe in; breathe out; ran through his head, “Hour maybe… just coming… to get… you.”

“When Grace came in to the room, you were going to come and ask me to bring you to the hospital?” Steve clarified, filling in the gaps that Danny just didn’t have the breath to.

“Yeah.”

Steve drove the rest of the way to Queens in silence, listening to Danny’s laboured breathing.  For once Danny was glad that the SEAL was a bit of a speed demon, as far as he was concerned the quicker they reached the hospital the better.  Reaching Queens in record time, even for Steve, he threw the car into a space next to the ER doors not caring that he was illegally parked.  Helping Danny out of the car and into the ER, he approached reception.

“Is Doctor Jensen on duty?” he knew they’d only seen him that afternoon but he hoped perhaps he was on call.

The receptionist looked up at the strident voice and was about to admonish the man when she saw the problem and called one of the nurses over.  Quickly assessing the situation she grabbed a wheelchair and Steve lowered Danny into it.

“Doctor Jensen saw him earlier…”

“I’ll check if he’s in the hospital,” the receptionist assured him as he followed the nurse back to the trauma rooms.

The members of 5-0 were known to nearly all the medical staff in the ER now, there were very few exceptions.  This nurse had treated Chin and Kono for minor injuries, so had met Danny and Steve as they hovered, as a result she didn’t even try to tell the Commander that he couldn’t come with her.

They helped Danny into a gown and were just getting him settled on the bed when Doctor Jensen appeared looking slightly dishevelled.

“I’m the attending on call,” he stated by way of an explanation as to why he wasn’t already in the ER, “How long has he been like this?” he addressed the question to Steve as the nurse placed an oxygen mask over Danny’s face.

“Not really sure, I think just over an hour.  He had started coughing earlier but it wasn’t bad enough to worry us.”

“The main thing is you’re here now,” Henry tried to reassure both his patient and Steve, “Joan,” he turned to the resident that had been on duty in the ER as she inserted an IV into the back of Danny’s right hand, “I want arterial blood gases, put in an arterial catheter as we’ll need it more than once, CBC and chest x-rays.”

Joan nodded and delegated getting the CBC and chest x-rays organised while she grabbed what she needed to do the arterial draw.  She placed Danny’s left arm on a short board with his inner wrist facing up and placed tape over his palm underneath his fingers and across his wrist just under his thumb. 

“I’m just going to inject a local anaesthetic, you’ll feel a sharp sting,” she warned him.

Steve took hold of Danny’s right hand, mindful of the IV needle and squeezed it reassuringly.  Danny squeezed back and clenched his eyes shut as he felt the sting.  Relaxing as the feeling wore off quickly.

She pushed on his radial artery to locate the place where she was going to insert the catheter, wiping his inner wrist with an alcohol wipe.  Then she used a small needle to inject lidocaine just under Danny’s skin to create a raised area over the insertion site.  She then cleansed his wrist with sterile solution and draped his arm and hand so that only his wrist was visible.  Joan inserted the needle into the artery until she saw blood, then holding the needle steady she pushed the catheter forward, once satisfied that the catheter was in place she withdrew the needle.  She connected a syringe and collected the blood required before closing the cap over the end.  Finally she stitched the catheter in place and put a clear adhesive dressing over it to ensure it stayed put.

“All done now Danny,” she spoke quietly to her patient, resting her hand on his shoulder.  She then ushered Steve out of the way so that the chest x-rays could be taken, allowing him back in once they’d been done.

Steve stayed with Danny, talking to him to try and keep him calm as his breathing just got worse and he kept coughing.  He looked anxiously round at the medical staff hurrying in and out of the room.

“Alright, the x-rays show fluid in your lungs Danny.  The arterial blood gas results have come back and I’m worried about the results, they indicate that you’re suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome or ARDS for short.”

Danny gave him a look that clearly said ‘no shit Sherlock’.  He didn’t need a doctor to tell him he was in respiratory distress, no, what he needed was for him to _fix_ it!

“What’s the treatment for it?” Steve asked, his hand resting on Danny’s arm.

Henry sighed and ran a hand over his hair knowing that his patient wasn’t going to like the answer, “Danny we need to sedate you and place you on a ventilator so that we can manage the O2 that you’re being given closely.”

Danny’s eyes widened and he shook his head, “No!”

“You have pulmonary edema.  Let me explain what that means.  You have alveoli in your lungs, which are tiny air sacs.  Oxygen from the air is picked up by the blood passing by and carbon dioxide in the blood is passed into the alveoli to be exhaled out.  In your case the integrity of the alveoli has been compromised by the resulting irritation and inflammation caused when you inhaled water, which means the air exchange isn’t happening effectively.  If we don’t put you on a ventilator while we resolve the inflammation, as well as treat any possible infection that may have been picked up from the water, then you will die,” Henry had to be blunt, they didn’t have time for messing around or the softly, softly approach.

“Die?” asked Danny.

“Yes.  We’ll move you up to ICU, sedate you and place you on a ventilator; you won’t even know it’s happening.  We’ll use PEEP, or positive end-expiratory pressure which will increase the volume of gas remaining in your lungs and that will improve the gas exchange I mentioned.”

“Want to see Grace first.”

“I’ll have one of the nurses get her,” agreed Henry.  He then turned to get a bed in ICU organised before Danny’s condition deteriorated any further.  It was lucky that he had come in so promptly.

The door to the room opened and Grace stepped through with Kono holding her hand.  They walked quietly over to the bed, Grace’s normal exuberance missing.

“Danno?”

“Hey Monkey,” his voice muffled by the oxygen mask he was wearing and strained by the effort to breathe and talk.

Steve lifted her up to sit on the bed at Danny’s right side, making sure that his left arm was covered as he thought that seeing her Dad’s arm strapped down might frighten her.  Steve didn’t let go of Grace and he felt Kono stand close beside him, also wanting to know what was happening, though she could sense it was serious.

“Grace… I have to… go to… sleep for… a while,” he wanted so desperately to explain this to his daughter so that she wouldn’t be scared, but how could he when he was terrified?

“For how long?” there was a tremble in Grace’s voice that was like a knife to Danny’s heart.

“Until I can… breathe better.”

“Why?”

Danny looked to his brother for help.  He didn’t have the energy or the breath to explain this no matter how much he wanted to.  It was unfair to ask this of Steve but Grace trusted him and so did Danny.

“Grace,” Steve understood the pleading look Danny sent his way, “Danno has some problems with his breathing right now.  Doctor Jensen can treat it but in order to do that he needs to make Danno go to sleep.  He’s going to need to be helped by a machine to breathe until his lungs work properly.”

“I’m scared!” she sobbed.

“I know… baby,” Danny lifted his hand and rested it on her head, “I’ll be… OK… Remember… Danno… loves you.”

“I love you too Danno.”

Danny removes the mask briefly and signals Grace to lean forward, he plants a kiss on her forehead, his hand holding the back of her head and stroking her hair reassuringly.  Kono and Steve exchange glances, both horrified and grateful to be witness to this scene between father and daughter.

“Go with… Kono now.”

Grace nods and kisses her father on his cheek before he puts the mask back on.  Steve helps her off the bed while Kono moves around him and plants a kiss of her own on Danny’s temple, “Stay strong brah.”

Danny gives her a weak smile, “Will do.”

Once Kono and Grace have left the room Henry returns, “We’re going to take you up to ICU now.”

“Can Steve… come… with me?”

Looking into the understandably anxious eyes of his patient Henry immediately agrees, “Yes, he can.”  The doctor will agree to anything to make this easier on his patient.  Ordinarily someone being put on a ventilator is unconscious already so is unaware that it will happen, this is much harder and Steve’s presence has always had a calming effect on Danny.

The medical team move the bed from the trauma room and they go up in the elevator to ICU.

Once there they are greeted by the familiar face of Akela, “Hi Danny.”

“Hey.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you,” he rested a hand on his shoulder before assisting him into the ICU bed and hooking him up to a heart monitor, a pulse ox and BP cuff.  As soon as he has the baseline results he requires he also draws more blood from the arterial catheter for further blood gases, which are immediately sent to the lab, it will help them determine the settings for the ventilator.

“Danny, we’re going to hang a bag of saline and some antibiotics.  We’ll then administer a low dosage of corticosteroid to help with the inflammation.  I’ll let you know before I introduce the sedative.”

“How long is he likely to be on the ventilator for?” Steve wanted to know and knew that Danny would want the answer to that question too.

“It could be anywhere from twenty four hours to a week or possibly longer.  There is no hard and fast rule.  We’ll be continually taking blood gases to check your levels Danny and as soon as they’re back within acceptable range we’ll have you off the ventilator.  OK?”

“’K.”

“I’ll be right back,” Henry ushered the other medical staff from the room to give the two men a short time alone.  A few minutes wouldn’t hurt.

“Look… after… Grace.”

“You know I will Danny.  Kono called Rachel, she’s on her way back from the event she was attending with Stan and will be here soon.”

“That’s good,” Danny paused before speaking again, “Steve… thanks… for… everything.”

“Hey, stop talking like this is good bye!  It’s not.  A few days and you’ll be back to ranting at me about how I drive your car all the time and how I have control issues.”

“You’ll… miss that.”

“Nah, be nice to get some peace and quiet for a few days!” Steve squeezed Danny’s arm just in case the other man didn’t realise he was kidding.

Danny heard what was not being said, heard the concern, “You, be… OK?”

“Me?  I’ll be fine,” wasn’t it just like Danny to worry about others before himself.  Here he was about to be sedated and put on a machine, yet still he worried about how Steve would cope.

“Good…”

“OK, I’ve got the sedative.  Danny I’ll inject this and you’ll be asleep in a couple of minutes.”

The patient and his brother both watched as the doctor inserted a needle into the IV port to give him his initial dose, after that it would be added to his IV fluids so that he was kept unconscious.

“See you… soon… brother,” Danny smiled and held out his hand.

Steve took it, “Sleep well brother.  I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Danny’s eyes closed and he was out.  Henry then ushered Steve out of the room so that he could intubate and get Danny set up on the ventilator.

Kono and Grace were sitting in the ICU waiting room as he approached.  They both got to their feet at the same time the elevator doors opened and Rachel came out with Stan right behind her.

“Grace!”

“Mom!” she ran to Rachel and was enfolded in her arms as she sobbed.

Kono approached Steve and laid a hand gently on his arm.  He looked kind of lost.  For the first time since Kono met him it was clear that he didn’t know how to handle this situation.

“They’re just putting him on the ventilator now,” he whispered, “I was with him until he fell asleep.”

“That’s good Steve.  I’m sure he appreciated it.  I’ve left a message for Chin to call me.”

“You should have let him have the weekend with Malia.”

“Oh yeah, I can just see how well _that_ would have gone over when he comes back tomorrow night and finds out we didn’t tell him!”

“Yeah, you have a point there.”

The two had been speaking quietly in a corner of the waiting room, letting Rachel and Stan have some privacy with Grace.  A throat cleared behind Steve and he turned round to find his partner’s ex-wife standing there.  Stan still over on the other side of the room with Grace.

“What happened, Steve?”

He quickly explained about the incident on the beach that morning.  ‘ _Was it only this morning’_ he thought to himself tiredly.  Steve made sure that he gave her all the details that Jason had given him when he’d called and ran through what Doctor Jensen had said.  Kono stood next to him not yet having heard the full details of Danny’s involvement in the rescue.

“Wow!” was Kono’s response.

“Always has to be the hero!” was Rachel’s.

“No Rachel, the only reason I know the full details is because I spoke to one of the lifeguards.  Danny wasn’t doing it to be a hero, he was doing it because that’s the kind of person he is, if he sees someone in trouble he helps,” he glanced pointedly over at Stan.

Getting the hint Rachel had to agree, “I know,” she sighed, “It’s one of the things that makes him such a good detective, his compassion for others.  I’m going to take Grace home now, please call if there’s any change.”

“I will,” Steve nodded.

Grace gave both Kono and Steve a hug before making Steve promise to call her the second Danno woke up.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Sunday morning found both Steve and Kono asleep in Danny’s room, they had refused to leave and since they weren’t getting in anyone’s way Henry wasn’t inclined to take on that argument.  The door opened quietly to reveal Chin with Malia close behind him.

“I was hoping it was all a mistake,” Chin whispered.  Malia took his hand in hers and they walked up to the bed together.  “I’m sorry that we had to come back, but I needed to be here for…”

“Chin, it’s alright.  When we spoke to Kono last night and she told us what had happened I wanted to be here as much as you.  I’m just sorry that it took us so long to get back here.”

“If it hadn’t been for Steve’s friend we would have been stuck on Lanai until our flight this evening.  I just wish we could have been here last night.”

“I know, but we’re here now and that’s what matters,” she reminded him.

“Listen to her Chin,” Kono stated as she yawned and stretched.

“I take it you’ve both been here all night?” asked Chin.

“Yeah, I know he’s sedated but it didn’t seem right leaving him on his own, you know?”

“Well why don’t the two of you go and get some food, a shower and some proper rest.  Chin and I will stay here with Danny,” Malia offered.

“That’s OK…”

“Neither of you will be any good to him if you make yourselves ill!  Food, shower, rest.  Go!”

“Better listen to the Doctor!” Chin told them.

“Alright, but you’ll call if there’s any change?” Steve asked.

“Of course we will, now go, both of you,” Malia chased them both out of the room and then picked up Danny’s chart.

“How does it look?”

“Well although his levels are bad it was caught quickly and he received prompt treatment.  There’s already been improvement over night.”

“That’s good,” Chin sat in the chair next to his friend’s bed, “Improvement already Danny, keep it up,” he instructed the sedated man.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

The Governor had told Steve, when he called him Sunday afternoon, to stay at the hospital and if anything came up he would call to let them know and requested that he be kept updated on Danny’s progress.

Everyone had been chased from the room Sunday night and sent home to much protesting.  They had all congregated at Steve’s, not wanting to separate before they had to.  All of them returned to their own beds but were back at the hospital bright and early Monday morning.

Steve, Kono, Chin and Malia were all in the room waiting when Doctor Jensen entered.  He looked up but wasn’t surprised to see them. 

“Morning,” he greeted before moving over to examine his patient.

“How is he?” Malia asked.

“Doing better,” Henry replied and launched into a language that the three 5-0 team members couldn’t hope to understand, not even Steve.

“Er, excuse me,” interrupted Steve, “For those of us that _didn’t_ go to medical school?”

“Ah sorry,” the pair had the decency to look a little guilty at entering doctor mode, “Danny’s gas exchange levels have improved significantly.  We’ll be doing another blood gas test late morning.  If that comes back with good levels then we’ll take him off the ventilator this afternoon and allow him to wake up from the sedative,” Henry informed them.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Monday afternoon saw Steve, Kono and Chin sitting in Danny’s room.  Malia had left as she had to work but had promised to pop in on her breaks to see how things were progressing.  Danny’s last blood gas test came back within normal range, so he had been taken off the ventilator which had been replaced with the much less intrusive nasal cannula.  Now they were just waiting for him to wake up.

Steve had made a point of calling Rachel to let her know and she had assured him that she would stop by the hospital with Grace after school.  The hope had been that Danny might have been awake by then.  There was only another hour left before Grace would arrive and apart from some occasional movements Danny hadn’t woken up, still at least when Grace saw him he wouldn’t be attached to a machine helping him breathe.  The arterial catheter was still in place and another draw had been done a short while ago to ensure that the patient was maintaining his levels.  The results had come back a short while ago and although they had dropped slightly they were still within expected parameters, much to everyone’s relief.

A movement from the bed didn’t cause any reaction from the other three people in the room, so many times the slightest twitch had made them all jump to their feet and they had found it to be nothing, that they expected this to be the same.  All of them had their noses buried in files that had been dropped off for them to go over at the Governor’s request.

Danny had been aware of slight noises for a while now but hadn’t been able to summon the energy to open his eyes.  He had used the time to recall what had happened and where he was.  It occurred to him that he didn’t feel a tube in his throat, although there was evidence that it had been there given the sore throat he had, the fact that it was now absent was a good sign, surely?

Finally able to pry his eyes open he found himself staring at the white tile ceiling of his hospital room.  The only noise was his heart monitor and the occasional rustling of paper somewhere not too far away.  Turning his head slightly it was to find three members of his ohana sitting in chairs with files in their hands.  Not one of them had noticed he was awake and he wasn’t inclined to draw their attention to the fact, not sure if he even could since his throat was dry and sore, he just lay there enjoying the fact that he could breathe.

A few minutes later the door quietly opened and Malia entered the room.  The first thing she noticed was that Danny was awake; the second was that none of the team had realised.  She grinned at the man in the bed and approached without comment.  As she neared the bed the other three acknowledged her presence with a distracted hello but didn’t look in Danny’s direction, not wanting to be disappointed again.  She kissed Chin’s cheek as she went by him and came to a halt by Danny’s head.

“How are you feeling Danny?” she asked.

Three heads shot up in surprise when they heard the question, immediately followed by three people jumping to their feet and rushing to the bed when they saw their family member was actually awake.

“OK,” his voice was gravelly due to his sore throat and the lack of use of his voice.  Malia reached over for the glass of water with a straw that had been left specifically for this reason and helped him take a few sips.

Steve pressed the call button to alert the nurse on duty that Danny was finally awake; when she stepped into the room she smiled before turning around and going to page Doctor Jensen.

He arrived just a few minutes later and kicked everyone out while he examined his patient.  When he’d finished he allowed them back in at Danny’s request so that they could all hear that Henry had to say.

“Good news, lungs sound clear, though we’ll do another chest x-ray to be sure.  I’ll also request one more blood gas and if that comes back with no significant drop I’ll order the catheter to be removed from your arm and if the x-ray is clear you’ll be moved to a normal room later this afternoon.”

Danny had been allowed some more water during his examination so although his voice was still croaky it was a little stronger, “What’s the long term prognosis doc?”

“You’ll be with us until the end of the week, unless any further issues arise.  After that you will need a few days rest at home.  You can return to work in two weeks, again as long as everything remains stable, on desk duty only.  No exertion!  You need to remember that your lungs have suffered some damage and they’ll take some time to heal.  I’ll make arrangements to see you on a weekly basis after you’re released.  We’ll speak to our physical therapists and come up with an exercise plan for you to follow once you’re home.”

“What are the chances that he’ll have problems with asthma or other breathing difficulties because of this?” Steve asked, he’d been doing some research while sitting with Danny so that he was prepared for all eventualities.

“There’s a chance of that but in the event that does happen it doesn’t have to be the end of the world, as there are inhalers and other medications to alleviate the symptoms.  Let’s not borrow trouble though.”

“Can I be involved in the meeting with the physical therapist, if Danny doesn’t mind?  That way I can help him,” the SEAL had experience of how difficult getting back into a routine could be after a serious injury.

“Danny?”

“That’s fine,” he smiled at Steve.  He appreciated the fact that he wanted to help.

“I’ll set up an appointment and let you know when it is,” Henry advised making a note, “Now I have other patient’s to see.  I’ll come back once you’ve had the x-rays and I get the results of those and the next blood gas.”

“Thanks Henry.”

The doctor left the room and the group exhaled in relief at the news so far.  They knew the recovery would take some time, but that was OK because they would help, the main thing was that Danny was going to be alright.

 

 

-5-0-

 

 

Saturday couldn’t come quickly enough for Danny.  Originally he was supposed to escape on the Friday but there had been a delay in removing the arterial catheter and because of the possibility of problems Henry had wanted to monitor him for an extra day.  Danny had to agree to stay with Steve until Monday as well, after that he was free to return to his own apartment.  Honestly he didn’t mind the stipulation.  Once he’d been moved out of ICU the team had resumed work and he’d spent a lot of time on his own.  Malia would stop by on her breaks, Rachel would bring Grace by after school and the team would visit after they finished for the day but he’d been pretty bored. 

Rachel had agreed that Grace could spend the day with Danny at Steve’s and dropped Grace off at the hospital first thing so she could go home with them.  His mood could not be dampened even when Steve walked in with the wheelchair.

Danny enjoyed the freedom of being out in the fresh air.  Nothing would ruin this day, not even Super SEAL using his car instead of his own truck.  He didn’t notice Steve and Grace exchanging conspiratorial looks as they drove back to the beach house.

“Alright Danny, in you go, I’ll grab your bag,” Steve instructed.

The door was opened by Kono who immediately ushered Danny out onto the back deck and into a chair.  Chin and Malia were already there and the five adults and one child spent a pleasant morning relaxing.  Unfortunately Danny still experienced some residual problems, such as tiredness, and it was starting to show as the morning wore on.

“Time to go and lay down Danny,” Malia ordered.

“I’m fine,” he replied.

“I can see you’re tired.  Go and sleep for an hour or so, you’ll feel better,” she cajoled.

Sighing Danny had to admit that he was feeling a little worn down still and perhaps a sleep wouldn’t hurt, then he could spend the afternoon with his family, “Alright,” he got up and headed inside without further argument, settling down in the guestroom.  His head hit the pillow and he was out like a light.

Downstairs the rest of the family waited about half an hour before Steve crept upstairs to check on him.  Finding him fast asleep, he closed the door and went to get started on their lunch plans.

Chin made some calls while Steve, Malia and Kono got busy preparing food with help from Grace.  A couple of hours later there was a table on the decking laden with food and several cool boxes with various beverages in.  Satisfied that everything was ready Steve decided it was time to wake Danny for lunch.

Steve and Grace both went upstairs and opened the guestroom door, “Danno?” Grace sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched his face.

“Hmm?”

“You’ve been asleep over two hours.  Do you want to get up and have some lunch?” asked Steve.

“Wow, I was more tired than I thought,” replied Danny opening his eyes and stretching.

“Lunch?”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind freshening up first.”

“That’s fine.  It’ll wait,” Steve smiled and left the room but Grace stayed behind.

“I’ll be down in a few Monkey,” Danny told his daughter.

“That’s OK Danno, I’ll wait for you here.”

Shrugging, he got out of bed and walked across to the bathroom, fortunately the window looked out over the side of the house, so he couldn’t see any of what his family had been up to while he slept soundly.  It didn’t take long and he was showered and changed into a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt with nothing on his feet.  He followed his daughter downstairs and out the back.

It wasn’t until he actually stepped outside that he registered all the people that had appeared while he’d been asleep.

“Surprise!” yelled Grace, throwing her arms around her Dad’s waist.

“You got that right!” exclaimed Danny, causing everyone to laugh.  He turned to Steve, “You!”

“Yup, with a little help,” he indicated Chin, Malia and Kono, the SEAL grinned completely unrepentant and enjoying the surprise on his brother’s face.  Slowly Danny turned to the assembled group of people.

“Wow, er, hi!”

That got another laugh and then people were walking up to him, shaking his hand, planting kisses on his cheek.  The group from that morning had been joined by Charlie Fong, Max and Joe White but that hadn’t been the biggest surprise.  Jason Ioane and Sean Monroe from the Waimanalo lifeguards were there, along with the victims he’d rescued and their families.  He waved off the thanks, dismissing it as something anyone would do if they could.  It didn’t matter what Danny said, those families were grateful and his family were proud!

 


End file.
